{"id":4010,"date":"2015-03-04T06:30:46","date_gmt":"2015-03-04T11:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=4010"},"modified":"2015-03-04T06:30:46","modified_gmt":"2015-03-04T11:30:46","slug":"art-and-puppies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2015\/03\/art-and-puppies\/","title":{"rendered":"Art and Puppies"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Photo by Megan Barnhart & Amy Justice<\/p><\/div>\n

So, I have been looking for an excuse to write something that includes our new puppy. (Meet Nala, born 10\/6\/2014) Once again, Nina Simon (Museum 2.0<\/a>, among many other things) has come through for me. In reviewing her presentations I was reminded of a question she sometimes asks: “How can we make our art more like dogs?” Her point is that dogs mediate communication. Dogs provide an opportunity (or excuse) for strangers to connect. They are a catalyst for interaction. Ms. Simon asks, quite rightly I think, how can we make our arts experiences more conducive to people talking to each other?<\/p>\n

My experience with Nala is that many, many, many people talk to me (er, us) who would otherwise pass me by without a second glance. This tendency to relate crosses many social, racial\/ethnic, even class lines. What really brought this home to me is what’s happened on the occasions when I’ve had to take her outside in front of our downtown condo in the wee hours of the morning. I’ve had numerous conversations with people whom I presume to be homeless. With big smiles, they ask me what breed she is, how old she is, and comment on how *big* she is going to get. (I’m choosing not to think about that last one too much.) But seriously, her presence makes it “safe” to talk to me. They sometimes also talk with me about dogs in their own lives.<\/p>\n

I (and many others) have written about the capacity of the arts to provide enough distance to allow people to address controversial issues with less raw emotion than is otherwise the case. I think that there is also much that could be done to design arts experiences as opportunities to promote simple non-fraught human connections, bridging gaps between strangers. That is, or should be, a significant element of community engagement. I imagine there is a systematic way of approaching this: how can our work be made more like golden retriever puppies? I’ll try to develop a way of thinking it through sometime, but right now I have to take my dog out.<\/p>\n

Engage!<\/p>\n

Doug<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Art and Puppies: “How can we make our art more like dogs?” (Thanks Nina Simon!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Art and Puppies: h\/t @ninaksimon \"How can we make our art more like dogs?\" http:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-12G","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[12,13,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-4010","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-principles","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-community-engagement","10":"tag-relationships","11":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/NalaWithPumpkin2014-e1424892138185.jpeg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-12G","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4513,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2016\/06\/making-friends\/","url_meta":{"origin":4010,"position":0},"title":"Making Friends","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"June 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"As lovable as we see ourselves, that's not a universal view. Relationships must develop gradually, recognizing the need to develop trust over time.","rel":"","context":"In "Principles"","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Nala","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Nala2016-e1459887601460.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3934,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2014\/12\/excellence-is-heterogeneous\/","url_meta":{"origin":4010,"position":1},"title":"Excellence Is Heterogeneous","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"December 10, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Categories of excellence and of engagement goals, thanks to Nina Simon.","rel":"","context":"In "Principles"","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/ExcellenceSign.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5238,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2018\/03\/systemically-privileged\/","url_meta":{"origin":4010,"position":2},"title":"Systemically Privileged","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"March 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Systemically privileged--a way to describe Eurocentrically-rooted arts organizations.","rel":"","context":"In "Overview"","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Privilege-300x208.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1079,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/01\/the-results-are-in\/","url_meta":{"origin":4010,"position":3},"title":"The Results Are In","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"January 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Even very casual readers of this blog have seen numerous mentions of Nina Simon, her blog Museum 2.0, and references to her work at The Museum of Art & History in Santa Cruz. 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